Serious glitches, but still engrossing

You complete each puzzle a letter at a time - which can actually get pretty old. It would be great if you could "pin" the keyboard in place and type through a whole word or two once youve figured them out.

Occasionally crashes, with the keyboard frozen (the letters depress, but nothing appears onscreen and you cant get back to the puzzle.) Thats especially frustrating because...

...You cant return to a game in progress. Someone phones you when youre halfway through a tough one? After your call, youll return to find your work gone.

The "hint" functions are hard to understand, and work haphazardly.

The solution to every puzzle is an aphorism, and theyre all kind of similar. A little more variety would be great.

Finally - and this should be an easy win - give us the ability to mute the sound, please. The fanfare at the beginning and the applause whenever we solve a puzzle get irritating very quickly.

But for all of that, its an addictive, simple game that can while away many a grocery store lineup. I enjoy it.

Rob Cottingham about Kryptograms